The Misfits
by eventidespirit
Summary: (AU) Robin is the new young assistant CEO of Wayne Corps, Star is a new girl in the city trying to establish herself as a fashion designer, Raven is an aspiring writer...being revised(complete summary inside) triangels: BlRoSt, RaBBT
1. Opening Night

**Chapter 1: Opening Night**

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_Raven is an aspiring poet searching for inspiration. She has currently been in a writer's block for quite a while and as her job at a local paper gets even more droll and boring, she begins to reconsider whether she should have tried to be a psychiatrist than dropping out of college to have more time to write._

_Starfire is a fashion designer who constantly feels outshined by her older more outgoing sister Blackfire who currently is quite renowned for her lewd fashion line. She is new to the city and grew up in a more rural area (hence she will still talk in her strange alien way and not understand some of the customs of the city). _

_Cyborg is a computer programmer who has finally been able to begin living again after several operations on him transforming into his robot/human state in the present day after a near fatal accident. Though a brilliant computer analyst, he is desolate and lonely for companionship. _

_Beast Boy is an aspiring comedian who is trying desperately to make people laugh (though it's not working). He also hangs on to his lengthy relationship with Terra and often confuses her actual personality with the ideal image of a girl he has vested upon her. _

_Finally, Robin is the young and talented new assistant CEO of Wayne Corps. Though Bruce is his adopted father figure of some sorts, he doesn't know as much about Bruce as he would like…and as of late, he begins to take the issue in his own hands as he attempts to find out who Bruce really is. _

* * *

Raven typed away quickly at her laptop. "Oh, come on!" she muttered. "There has to be more stuff I can rack out about the misuse of lab mice in large biotechnology institutions." However, no ideas were coming to her. She had already mentioned all the factual information she had discovered about their abuse, which wasn't all that much anyhow: half a page max. And of course she added a bit of her own opinion on the future implications of this practice, which no matter how hard she tried to extend, she could only write about a paragraph. "If only there were no law suits." She thought. That would make her job as a writer for the non-prestigious underdog paper of New York City, _The __Muckrakers_ a ton lot easier. No, though they claimed the name of the ever-famous _The __Muckrakers_ of the past, the editors of the paper wanted to avoid controversy. Lawsuits from large companies could be costly, and the paper frankly, did not have too much money. After all, they only had a readership of about two hundred people, which was horrible by the media standards of Jump City. Even the tabloid _What Really Goes on in those Furniture Stores _was doingbetter than them.

Raven stared blankly at her article. She needed to write just one more paragraph. Staring at the clock, she realized that it was eight o'clock, way past dinnertime. She was getting quite hungry and the temptation to make something up for the article was becoming harder to resist. After all, if she made something up that wasn't too absurd, she could get away with it. The reporting champion, Jinx, after all did it all the time. And look at where she was? She was on her way of getting promoted to a minor editor, a pay raise, and a better office spot, while Raven was stuck as a mere reporter, surviving on a meager pay. She thought up another reason to justify writing fiction for the paper: if it did indeed cause a lawsuit, the paper would go bankrupt, which wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing. Her pay wasn't that great anyhow.

But no, Raven unfortunately had honor and pride. She would have to research more on these lab rats into the night. Making stuff up for an article was the first step to degenerating her articles to the tabloid articles. She sighed; everything just sucked… her job, her non-existent social/love life, and her existence in general.

Raven looked up from her computer screen as she heard footsteps, specifically high heel clicking, in the office room. Who would be here so late, besides the janitors? And the last time she checked, janitors really did not wear high heels when they worked.

"Hey Raven." Oh, great…the exact person she was looking forward to seeing this late in the office…Jinx. Jinx with her flamboyant pink hair (that had to be hair dye) was perky, shrill, and utterly horrible as usual.

"Hey Jinx." Raven tried to utter a semi-enthusiastic reply. What was she doing here so late? Shouldn't she be on a date with some low life or out at some boisterous party?

"Raven, dear. I see you're working late here already. You know, you work way too hard." Jinx picked up her nail filer proceeded as Raven pretend to be thoroughly engrossed in her work. Flattery, what did she want now? Raven was getting increasingly frustrated as Jinx continued to talk in her sweet coaxing manner.

She could stand the bootlicking any further. It was really plain disgusting to hear. It was even more grotesque to see all of the managers and editors buy Jinx's act, but she couldn't fool Raven. "Jinx, what do you want?" She cut Jinx off bluntly.

"Geez Raven, can't I be nice and talk to you?" Jinx looked at her innocently. Raven continued to glare at her, until Jinx sighed and placed a piece of paper in front of Raven's face. "Ok. I realize and accept that you totally have no social life, so would you be a dear and write this article for me? It's due tomorrow and I have like two parties to hit and since you're already here working on something else, I see no waste in having you write my article."

Raven read the paper. She cringed as she read the topic…the New York sewers and what sorts of trash toxin companies really dumped in them. "You want me to write an article about trash in the sewers?" She questioned Jinx.

Jinx barely looked up from filing her nails and nodded. "Yeah. Fifty bucks for it, which really isn't all that much from the amount I get from my pay check."

Fifty dollars was quite a high offer and Raven considered her rent for the month… "Fine, I'll do it. Pay in cash right now." It was going to be a long night for her. She might as well have the money now. She could hardly wait to spend all night researching lab mice and sewer pollution.

* * *

Starfire meekly picked up her heavy luggage bags and headed outside. Where was her beloved elder sister Blackfire?

She had already waited in the airport for over an hour waiting for her sister to pick her up. She had called Blackfire earlier from home to confirm that she could indeed find time in her oh so busy schedule to pick up her younger sister. "Sis, of course I'll pick you up. I'll be there at seven o'clock sharp! I can't wait to show you the city!"

It would be an understatement to say that she was disappointed in Blackfire. It was nearly eight thirty by now. She would have to find her own way to Blackfire's apartment.

Thankfully, she had written down the address of her sister's residence. "Let me see, 1800 Titan Apartments, room 303, how quaint." She thought to herself. Haplessly, she had no idea where this apartment complex was. She also didn't have a map or any directions. And it was getting dark, very dark.

Star headed towards an intersection. She was surprised to see the large number of people still out and about in the city. Back in her home, the streets would practically be empty at this time- it was practically an unofficial curfew that everyone had to be in their homes by eight p.m.

"Excuse…" Star tried to get the attention of fellow passerbys, but everyone either did not hear her voice or were in too much of a hurry to care. She sighed in resignation, as no one seemed to care that she was hopelessly lost.

Star almost jumped in glee as she saw a young respectable man in a suit walk by more slowly than the others. She quickly trailed after him. "Excuse me sir, I am new at this wonderful city, and I really do not know how to get to my sister's house. It is getting dark, and I am afraid that I will not be able to find my way there. Could you please assist me in the directions?" The man looked a bit reluctant. He sighed impatiently, "I-I kind of have to get somewhere…" Starfire looked down at the ground. Perhaps the city was not as brilliant place as Blackfire had described. The people certainly were not as refined and polite as those back at home.

"Sir, please. I must get to my sister's house tonight. I thought that you might be of some assistance to me…"

"I really need to get to…well I guess it won't take more than a few minutes. All right, let's see the address. Hm…Ah! Just head down this street, turn right down there and go past two intersections, then turn left and you'll be on your merry way."

Star shined brightly. (Um cheesy pun). "Dear sir! Thank you so very much. So I must just go down this street, turn right, go past two intersections, and then turn left?" The man nodded. Star graciously took his hands into hers. "Oh! I am forever indebted in your generosity and kindness. Would you like me to recite the poem of gratitude from my old town?" The man looked a bit uncomfortable. Star persisted "It is but 3000 verses." The man vigorously shook his head, smiled sheepishly, and then quickly headed off in the opposite direction.

Star followed the man's directions carefully. "Perhaps the city is not such a bad place after all." She thought.

She looked at her watch. It was around nine by the time she reached her sister's apartment door. She knocked on the door eagerly. She would finally get to see her elder sister after all these years. She smiled brightly for a while thinking of this reunion… However, after about fifteen minutes at the door, Star began to be concerned. What was causing Blackfire all this delay in answering the door? She pressed her ear against the door. There was loud, startlingly loud music coming from the door. What was going on? Star decided to pound at the door. "Blackfire, it is I your sister Starfire at the door!" She persisted in yelling her sister's name and pounding at the door when finally a fazed teenager opened the door. "Yo, Blackfire, someone's at the door for you."

From the looks of things, it appeared that a party, a rather rambunctious one, had been going on in the apartment room. "Can it wait?" Star felt uncomfortable as she heard her sister's voice. Her sister sounded irritated, impatient, totally unlike the older sister she had just conversed with over the phone. The boy who had opened the door earlier headed toward the back room. Star dragged her luggage into the room. It was a difficult task for there were several people in the room dancing rather inappropriately. Where was Blackfire? Was she even at the right apartment?

Star continued to contemplate this as she finally saw her sister emerge. Blackfire was laughing with a crowd of guys. "Now, I'll be just a second."

"Sister!" Star yelled out. Blackfire widened her eyes a bit. So _this_ was why she had to leave her companions. Blackfire managed a smug smile "Hey Star! Great to see ya. So you finally decided to come out here to the city. Let me tell ya, it does wonders to your fashion designing careers. That is why you came out here to do isn't it?"

Star was a bit puzzled. How could her sister now remember this? "Blackfire, did I not tell you that I was coming today on the phone earlier? You offered to pick me up from the airport."

Blackfire grinned. "Silly me, I completely forgot. This party sort of came up. Hey, I have some company to attend to. Go have some fun too! I'll talk to you later." She gave a quick wink to Star and waved at the large crowd of guys in the corner.

Star tried, (she genuinely did), to talk to the other people at the party. But it was so difficult to with all the loud pounding music and the dancing. She sighed. She would go outside and take a walk or something. It was just far too loud inside. "Perhaps the city is not as wonderful and magnificent as I imagined." She muttered. She closed the door quietly. No one would notice that she, the wallflower, had left the party.

"Tomorrow will be a better day." She tired to reassure herself. And perhaps, it would be. After all, tomorrow would be the first day of work at her sister's company. Though she did indeed miss her sister, she had come to the city for the job opportunity of being able to show more people her clothing designs. She had always loved sketching and drawing designs for clothing.

She walked outside the apartment building. As full and vibrant as the city was, she realized that it could indeed be a lonely place, a very lonely place indeed.


	2. Beginnings

**Chapter 2: Beginnings**

**Robin bits at the end were completely redone. **

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* * *

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Cyborg finally gave up hitting the snooze button again on his alarm clock. It was inevitable; he had to get up eventually and he may as well get up. He rubbed his eyes groggily, 7:15. That was quite early. If he wanted to finally go to work today, he would make it in time.

He got out of bed and headed towards his closet. Wait a second, something wasn't right. There was a smell-a nice amorous smell coming from the kitchen. Since when did that ever happen? Did his landlord suddenly become infected by the love bug and decided to be kind to his tenants?

He opened the door and headed towards the kitchen. _Oh God no!_ He slapped himself on the forehead. It was his mother.

The look on his face that seemed to say, "Mom, what the heck are you doing at my house" was so obvious that his mother had already begun to explain herself.

"Now, Cyborg, dear, I'm sorry to barge in on you like this but I need to make sure that you get to work today. You've been putting it off for days now (Cyborg mentally corrected his mother at this point. He was supposed to start work on Monday, which was _only_ two days ago.) Mr. Bruce Wayne has given you an excellent opportunity, and I don't want you to squander it hiding at home."

"Mom, I really was planning on going to work today."

"Well, all the better, I'll give you that little push out the door." His mother proceeded to the refrigerator and began pouring some orange juice for him. "And do something about your room. It's a mess. I tired reorganizing it a bit today, but…"

"You what!" Cyborg quickly rushed into his room. Long behold, his closet was nicely organized. "Great, now I can't find anything." He muttered to himself.

Finally after much deliberation, he chose out a large grey suit and tie to wear to work. He really hated dressing well for work or for that fact, any occasion. Ever since the accident and the operations (that made him into his robot like state about two years ago), he hated stepping out of his apartment. It was just so humiliating walking down the street having the passer-bys all react to him. It wasn't that great having people give him looks of sympathy, but it was even worse when they made fun of him. "Metal man!" "Tin man alert!" He had to resist the urge to punch the living day lights out of those kids, and it was very difficult at times. However, it was the worst when they avoided walking near him or when they just stared at him like he wasn't even human, cowering in fear.

Cyborg had only been fully functional and out of the hospital on his own in his apartment for the past six months. He was amazed at how Bruce Wayne had personally asked him to work for the company. Well, it wasn't a complete and utter surprise, he was very good with computers, even more so with his semi-human robotic form. Or perhaps it was out of pity…

As he rushed out the door, placing a large hat on top of his head to cover the hideous side of his face, the machine part, his mother approached him.

"Good luck at work dear. And Cy, your father really wants to talk to you. If you'd only…"

"Ma. I'm gonna be late. Can this wait till later?" Cyborg quickly rushed out the door and closed it shut. His father was the whole reason he was in this state. No, he just wasn't ready yet. He wasn't ready to face the outside world either. "Here goes nothing." He muttered to himself as he stepped outside into the streets.

* * *

Beast Boy stood backstage, a bit nervous. He flipped through his jokes again, specifically the biology oriented ones. It was his first comedian gig and he wanted to nail it. Sure, it wasn't going to be a large audience, but all famous comedians had to start out somewhere.

"Oh come on!" He muttered to himself. He had already forgotten the punch line to one of his jokes. "Oh gosh! It was my toe sis? Oh right that one. Man, how could I forget that one."

"Yea, how could you?" Beast Boy turned around. It was Terra, his girlfriend. "B.B., that's one of my favorites too." She giggled a bit and rushed over to Beast Boy and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "Good luck out there. I'm sure you'll do great." She smiled and quickly skidded off.

"Sir, you're on in 5 minutes." The back stage manager informed B.B. promptly.

Why was B.B. doing this? Well, for one, he had always loved making jokes and cheering his friends up whenever they were down. And through high school, he was the class clown. Sure, his classmates didn't always get his jokes and he didn't have that many friends, but he got attention. And in a world that does not appreciate the unintelligent and untalented that mattered to him. He, after all, had never finished high school. Who really needed to if you were going to make jokes all day? (_A.N: I'm not trying to degrade comedians here. This is merely a representation of Beast Boy's reasoning for not going on to college_.) In fact, he was really never too good at school. Education was more likely to degrade his comedic muse.

The curtains opened and B.B. stood in the spot light, a bit nervous and uncomfortable. He pulled at his collar. There wasn't much of a crowd. There were a few people scattered about the room. This hang out place wasn't very popular anyhow. With the name "The Misfits," it seemed to be doomed to small crowds. Because of the lack of people, B.B. did get the job for a stand up comedian on unpopular nights for the place.

"Hey you people in the peanut gallery out there!" He began. "How are you all doing?" Terra was the only person who responded. She clapped her hands eagerly.

Beast Boy wasn't really this bland with his friends. He had better, fresher jokes, but on stage, he just seemed to whither away. Each joke failing to amuse an already bored audience except Terra, of course cheered him on. By the end of the night, only he, Terra, and the janitor were left in the room.

He bowed down his head in defeat. He had accidentally laughed during a few of the jokes, making the rest of it indiscernible. Other times, he had stuttered, stumbled among the words, exacerbating the already dreadful situation. And other jokes were simply horrible. He reminded himself to practice more and to scrap those bad ones.

"That was horrible. I'm really sorry I have to put you through this." B.B. sighed, disappointed: ego broken and slightly ashamed. A comforting touch upon his should…Terra smiled warmly and patted him on the shoulder. "B.B., that was great. I found it very funny!"

Terra laughed at anything, and she was another reason for B.B.'s pursuit of the stand-up comedian career. With Terra's laughs and giggles, he felt completely better after the horrible gig. She always cheered him up completely, the bright spot in his life, a golden haired muse even…whenever sadness began to plague him and weigh down upon his jokes, she was there within his mind making the sorrow bate away…

Terra was the unattainable dream girl. He had always admired and had a crush on Terra all through his high school years. She was that extremely popular girl who was always surrounded by friends. He still couldn't believe his luck that somehow or rather, she became his girl. Imagine that! Of all the jocks, the preps, the SGA, smart alecs who pined after her in high school, she had chosen _him_, and it was a wonderful feeling.

* * *

Robin redialed Bruce's number. It was nearly four, and Robin was soon going to meet another dawn without sleeping. Where the heck was he? It was excusable that the cocktail party Bruce had been invited to would run over a few hours, perhaps to three at the very latest and that took into account Bruce seeing all of the guests off, being a perfect gentleman and seeing that all the ladies had a ride home, and staying behind to help the clean up group completely wipe the hotel spotless…A ring 

_And then three more…_

_Fifth time's the charm…_If Bruce was there, he would always pick up the phone on exactly third ring because it showed others that he respected the callers and recognized that by calling his home, there had to have been some rather important reason. Yet, by not picking up the phone too quickly, it also showed that he was a busy man with some more significant issues to deal with.

The fifth ring of the phone passed…he was not home. Robin's heart sank when Alfred finally picked up the phone after seven rings. A slightly tired yet still proper voice greeted him. "Mr. Wayne isn't available at the moment. May I take a message?"

"Alfred, it's me, Robin."

"Master Robin, dreadfully sorry, but Master Bruce isn't back yet. He's busy at the time. I'll let him know as soon as he gets back."

Robin sighed. He needed to ask Bruce this very important on reporting account information. It was due tomorrow or rather today, and he had a lot of company profits to calculate. However, he wasn't sure whether he was supposed to continue comparing them to last season's gains.

He admitted that he should have worked on it earlier, but he was just loaded up with work. Being an assistant CEO or more specifically CEO of the New York division wasn't an easy job. He was loaded with decisions, papers to sign all day. And it really didn't help that some of his employees considered him an upstart.

Take Gizmo, for instance. Gizmo was a whiz at calculations, but refused to work efficiently for Robin unless he periodically had private conferences with him in which he subtly threatened the rather obnoxious worker with pay cuts. Gizmo was on near top of his list for employees to replace, if at all possible, personality-wise. The calculation whiz was truly adept at his work, Robin had to admit _that_, but his attitude often negated his working progress. Yet, every day, there was just so much to do, so many appointments and meetings to attend that he hadn't the time to properly search for a suitable replacement. For the time being, Gizmo was unfortunately, safe in his position.

Robin didn't mind others' opinions of him…he would prove himself in time; others were free to judge him as they liked after he had a chance to establish his position yet it was a nuisance to fight others' engrained, deprecating opinions of him and to still remain as vibrant, energetic, optimistic, basically "youthful" as they say in the business world. Bruce Wayne's protégé…what a man to be always compared to…there were, of course, many expectations that others expected for him to fulfill, to accomplish since he was Bruce's "ward" after all ("the _child_ had to have absorbed some of Mr. Wayne's prestige from living with the man for so long.") So what if he rarely slept in his bed at night, so what if he was starting to receive dark lines under his eyes (resulting in a small eye mask that he began to wear more and more frequently to avoid others from seeing just how tired he really was), and so what if coffee and caffeine was what kept him awake a majority of the time…he had a predecessor to live up to, and he certainly was not going rest to relax until the Wayne Corps legacy was fulfilled.

And he would be further yet from that legacy if he didn't have the budget done by tomorrow. Where else could he call to reach Bruce? He wondered, and a name resonated within his mind...it was going out on a limb but perhaps, if Bruce Wayne was feeling a tad bit sensitive (no, on the utter lack of sleep he was having, his rational skills had all slipped into a dreamer's illogical musings), he may have gone to visit her. Or perhaps, more feasibly, if she didn't hang up on him in frenzy over being woken at such an odd hour of the night, she could be of help.

He flipped through his desk drawers until he found the black, leather bound planar. Quickly, he tore through the letters of the alphabet under the directory…_A_, _B_, _C_, _D_…_Daisy_, _Deborah_…_Diana_.

Diana, Bruce's long time girl friend and the only semi mother figure in his life, would know as well as Alfred of Bruce's whereabouts. Feeling a tad bit guilty for calling so late or more correctly early, he slowly dialed the number and hoped that she was in a time zone where it was still a decent time to call.

A muffled yawn resonated through the phone, and then a mumble. "You better not be a telemarketer; I _am _on the do-not-call list, and these days, there are enough pop up ads to…"

"Diana?" Robin asked…slightly nervous, she didn't seem to be in the best of moods. Perhaps, calling hadn't been such a good idea after all.

"Oh, Robin! I-ignore what I just said…I had a bad experience with a foreign telemarketer a few nights ago." _That _was certainly a sudden change in tone. Thankfully, she was only brutal to certain callers.

"Sorry for calling so late…" But before he could quickly ask her a question, she interrupted.

"My…it's nearly five in the morning." She yawned again, and some loud shuffling could be heard.

"I'm sorry; I know it's a bad time to call…it's far too early…" He began what could be considered a rather awkward apology.

"Oh, no, don't be. It's a perfectly good time to call. And actually, I would beg to differ; I was running late this morning." Running late…he hated to imagine her hectic schedule. "I've got an early flight to catch this morning, and I slept through the alarm." More shuffling was heard…a door slam, a running faucet…"I'm sorry. What did you want to ask?"

"I just really needed to find Bruce, and since Alfred said he was still out, I thought that you might know."

"Ah…Bruce, always the elusive one to find. He's a bit busy now; something important came up."

"Yea…well I had these reports due in by today in about three hours. And you know how Bruce hates things to be late." He heard a faucet slam and a creak of a door. "Maybe I should call you back later…"

"Hm…well, I'll probably be on my flight then…I do know a little about budgets and such. It's not my foray, but let's see, what type of report is it?" Diana was in a similar line of business.

As Robin pondered over the budget with Diana, he could not help but to wonder where Bruce was. Bruce had been the closest person to a father figure in his life. Robin vaguely remembered his own parents through blurbs of memories in his dreams. He had to admit though; Bruce has hardly been there for him. Not that he minded…they weren't the closets of friends. Sure, the ever-successful Mr. Wayne had saved him from poverty and introduced him to the world of large corporations. He wouldn't have his job now, at this age, if it weren't for Bruce. Connections as they say in the corporate world.

Bruce wasn't much of a father. He was always too busy with his own life to have too much, if any, time for Robin. Bruce was often out during the strangest hours of the night. _Something_ was going on. However, Alfred and Diana never mentioned anything. They avoided the subject and instead redirected Robin by either helping him as Diana did earlier or bringing up another topic. It was a bit odd indeed.

The question had always been in the back of Robin's mind, and he had even chanced to broach the question of what Bruce did besides Wayne corporations that kept him busy during those odd hours of the night. As he subtly implied the question, Bruce would look him in the eye to show that he was being genuine. "There is something else, but I will let you know in time." Yet Bruce never looked colder, more distant as those two discerning blue orbs stared into his.

* * *

_AN: Apologies for lapses from the comic book history, I haven't read them, though I do know a bit more about them than when I started writing this fic. I know that some of you were a bit frustrated with the introduction of Cyborg's mother; she has a very minor role. _

_Reviews are very much appreciated! _

_And shameless self-advertisement: a one shot fluffy Christmas/holiday reflection fic called "A Christmas Star."_


	3. Meetings Part 1

Chapter 3: Meetings (Part 1)

            Starfire bowed her head down in defeat.  Could her first week of work in the city have been any more terrible?  Well, at least she didn't get herself fired, but then again, if she had, she would probably be in a better state at this point.  She would have an excuse to go home, after all.  

            Where should she begin?  

            The week had already begun in bad terms.  After Blackfire's crazy, boisterous party, it had been quite late in the night.  At that point, Blackfire had just realized that she did indeed have a guest in her home, her sister, Starfire and with the party and all, she had completely neglected to clear out the guest bedroom for Star to sleep in.  

            Thus, Star began her first morning with a sore back from sleeping on the cold, ceramic floor.  The bed in the guest room was far too filled with clutter to allow any sort of comfort and the sheets on it didn't look quite sanitary enough to sleep in.  

            "Starfire!  You _just_ got up?  We are gonna be so late.  Come on!"  Blackfire yelled as she saw her sister get out from the sleeping bag.  Blackfire grabbed her sister's wrist and was practically dragging her out the door.  "Please, sister…I have not yet changed out of my night garments."  "Oh!  All right!  Hurry up!"  Blackfire sighed and impatiently stared at the clock as she waited for Starfire to get dressed.  Some people could just be _so irresponsible_.

            Work, however, was not any better than her morning.  Though Blackfire's company was located in a very building complete with its own grand fountain and lovely ice ("Yes, that's real ice.  We have one rebuilt every winter" Blackfire reassured) sculptures, appearances were deceiving.  Inside, the building was filled with cubicles filled clutters of manikins, some half dressed in rather skimpy looking clothes, while others were dressed in torn and old looking dresses and people rushing about, typing up documents, sketching, or sewing.  Starfire had secretly hoped that Blackfire was not responsible for designing the clothes on the manikins.  They were rather ostentatious and revealing, clothes Starfire would never wear.    

            To her dismay, she watched her sister head over towards one of the manikins with the horrible clothes and smile brightly.  "Great work over here Bridget!  I'll guarantee a spot for this one for sure next season."  'Bridget,' who was heavily laden in makeup and would look like the type of person who would try these clothes on, winked at Blackfire.  "Great company party last night, huh?"

            People like _that _work at Blackfire's company?  Starfire's heart sunk a bit.  This wasn't the job she had imagined she would be doing.

            "Oh, no time to waste, sis.  I have a meeting with the Board of Directors today.  We'll decide on a formal position for you later…I just have so many workers.  But hey, no prob sis, you can be my personal assistant.  My last one quit last week and it's been horrible trying to schedule out everything."  

            "All right, Blackfire…I shall look forward to…"  Starfire stopped shortly as they reached the meeting room.  "Ok, just don't say anything that would embarrass me."  Blackfire said a bit sharply as they entered the room full of the directors sitting around a round table.  They seemed to be waiting for Blackfire.   

            "Hey everyone.  Nice to see you all here.  Mr. Grisman, how's the accounting going?  Oh and Sam, great designs last week.  Ok.  I promise I won't be wasting your time today.  I've chosen out some potential suits for our bathing suit line, here"  Blackfire motioned Starfire to pass out the folders on the table.  "Oh and by the way, this is my sister, Starfire.  She's new in town and she'll be my new assistant for now."  

            "Hm…can't wait to see how long she lasts."  Starfire turned around as she continued passing out the folders to see one of the gentlemen smirking.  

            Starfire sat to the side.  She had caught glimpses of the bathing suits and though she would rather not say this, she wondered why anyone would wear such clothes.  The board, however, seemed to be quite pleased with the clothes chosen.  

"Hey, Starfire, be a dear and get us some coffee.  The usual, guys?"  The directors all nodded.  "That would be six mochas, two dark, five regulars with a pack of sugar each?"  

Blackfire had just expected her to find the coffee room on her own.  Just like old times.  Starfire thought.  She had tried to block out all the thoughts of her sister from the past, trying to hope that she had changed for the better…

When she had finally found and gotten all the coffees, the directors were all impatiently waiting.  "Took you long enough."  The gentleman (who had smirked at her earlier) remarked.  "I am sorry.  I did not know where coffee room was located."  She mumbled and in a rush to hand out the cups has tripped over one of the chairs and had spilled most of the coffee in the cups.  One of the cups had haplessly spilled into the man's lap and he stood up angrily.  "These are new pants!  Do you even know what the heck you're doing?"  And in a fit of rage, he left the room.  Starfire began to apologize profusely, for his clothes, the coffee, the dirty table, and for disturbing the meeting as she tried to clean up the mess.

"That's it!  Star!  You've done quite enough for today.  I'll deal with you later."  Blackfire motioned her to the door and then continued to address the directors in an saccharine voice.  "Now where was I?"  

So that is how Starfire was stuck with the most tedious job in the company: entering numbers for the company's earnings into the computer.  Her sister had not yet looked at any of her sketches.  She had been quite steamed at Star after the meeting incident.  All in the first week, she sighed.  

Star had tried to avoid going home early lately.  She found more joy in wandering around the city.  Her sister was of no comfort in the home.  Today, she found herself staring into an empty restaurant with a stage of some sort.  The neon colored sign "The Misfits" flickered on and off.  

"I suppose I shall go in.  There is nowhere else to go."  She convinced herself to enter the store.  It seemed subtle enough.  The stage was dusty and there were seats and tables scattered around the room.  There were few people in these save for a few grisly looking old and middle-aged men and a girl with lavender hair?  This was definitely a place that Blackfire would not be caught dead in.  And she enjoyed that.  It was a bit of freedom, a bit of rebellion.

When the red-haired girl first approached her, Raven was a bit surprised.  She had not expected any other people her age to willingly be in this run-down place.  She wasn't exactly here by choice either.  It was for yet another article, though she didn't mind this one as much.  With Jinx on a two-week vacation, she was temporarily in charge of the "Entertainment Section," meaning she would get to rate and write a few reviews for some restaurants. She had chosen the Misfits to rate…the atmosphere was a bit musty, but it felt like home…somewhere she could belong.  

"Hello.  May I sit here and have some repast with you?"  The girl asked holding a tray of French (formerly freedom) fries.

Seeing no excuse to object, Raven nodded.  Weird.  She must not be from around here.  Raven mused.  

"This is an interesting place, is it not?  What are you writing?"  The girl had noticed Raven pen and note pad.  "I'm just taking down notes for an article I have to write about for this paper I write for, _The __Muckrakers_."   

"Oh, you are a reporter?"  She asked with genuine curiosity.  Raven nodded.  The two continued to sit in silence when the girl spoke up again.  "Oh, many apologizes.  Where are my manners?  My name is Starfire.  It is nice to have met you."  "Raven."  Raven introduced herself.  "You don't seem to be from around here…"  Starfire nodded.  "It is that obvious?" 

A.N.:  Wow.  Thank you.  Being bombarded (at least for me) by reviews is pretty darn cool.  Keep it up! 

Next chapter: Meetings (Part 2) I shall try to avoid doing these 2 part chapters.  This chapter wasn't supposed to have two parts…it just turned out this way.  I had most of the Raven and Starfire meeting part done, but not the other half of the original chapter and it's been a pretty long time since I updated this story, so I decided to post what I had.  By the looks of things, I think that this will be a very long chapter fic lol.  So do try to be patient.


	4. Meetings Part 2

Chapter 4: Meetings (Part 2)

_           9:30 _

            Robin placed his hands into his coat pockets and began to walk a bit quicker.  He didn't exactly have to get to work as early today, but he had a pretty major meeting with the owner of S Inc., the infamous Slade.  Bruce was supposed to have this meeting with Slade; however, he wanted Robin to have more experience meeting with the heads of other companies, so Robin was to take Bruce's spot in his stead the meeting.  

            _Slade?_

_            Mr. Slade?_

_            Hello, Slade, sir._

_            How are you Mr. Slade?_

            Robin tried pronouncing the name, figuring out different ways to greet this man he was about to meet.  From simple manners, he knew that it was completely impolite to address strangers by merely their last name…it showed disrespect and arrogance on the part of the speaker.  And though Robin when through typical greeting phrases that had worked even for the most difficult of businessmen that he had met, it just seemed weird, out of place to call this Slade by anything other than his last name.  _Mr. Slade?_  No, that was just plain eccentric.  The _Mr._ just seemed so out of place.  

            To tell the truth, Robin wasn't at all looking forward to this meeting.  In fact, he was dreading it.  Simply dreading it, loathing for the hours before the meeting to drag on and on.  Slade was one of the primer entrepreneurs of the country; the only one who had ever stood a chance against Bruce's Wayne Corps.  What were they going to meet about?  Well, they were supposed to strike some sort of deal between the two companies on worker pay and rights and that was why Robin was precisely dreading the meeting.  Bruce wasn't going to be there (he was apparently busy with something in Gotham, though Robin knew not what) and Slade was one of the slickest, most slippery CEOs out there.  He was found to be linked to some rather unpleasant and underground business dealings and corporate corruption, however, no one could ever link him to a crime; he was just slick, slipping out through the cracks of the evidence.  Robin had to watch out today…

            He yawned a bit and continued walking, glancing at all the shop windows as he passed by.  He saw flashes of bright signs: Sale today!  Everything is 50 % off!  After Christmas sales…  He remembered his Christmas this year and let's just say lightly that it wasn't very pleasant.  Bruce, Diana, and him and a few close friends were supposed to have a small get together, however, Bruce never showed up.  He was away again at another "oh so important last minute" business dealing and couldn't make it.

            Speaking of Bruce, he was getting a bit suspicious that his father figure was engaged in something clandestine, something that he didn't want him to know about.  And somehow or another, he felt that behind Diana's words yesterday as she helped him with some business accounts, she knew and was hiding it from him.  But what could it be?

            Robin was a bit surprised that he had pondered Bruce's whereabouts at all.  He wasn't usually the one to mope about and to obsess over issues.  _My lack of sleep must finally be catching up to me_. He mused.  And he wasn't exactly as unpopular and as awkward as he had thought himself to be in the depths of the night.  People like Gizmo just made it a bit difficult for him.  There were plenty of other people, other workers, other people in higher places who very much appreciated his work and his leadership skills.  He got along with most of the people all right and he was doing quite well considering that he wasn't exactly completely familiar with the settings of this city; he was used to Gotham and that city had been his home longer than any other city had been.   No, he had never been the one to wallow in self-pity…it had just been late last night and he hadn't been thinking clearly.  There was much to be proud of, after all; he was almost as good as his protégé, Bruce Wayne.  _Almost _was the key word.  There was still a lot of catching up to do.     

            Robin had been so engrossed in his thoughts that he hadn't noticed the man in front of him stop and gape at a newspaper headline.  

            Crash!

            He ran straight into the man who had stopped in front of him.  Realizing his mistake, he quickly apologized to him.  The man, surprising, upon seeing his face actually wasn't that old; in fact, he was about Robin's age.  He wore a long trench coat that had covered most of his body and a large hat that had covered most of his face.  From what Robin could decipher, he appeared to have some metallic parts on his body (_a cyborg_, he presumed, _the poor must have been in some horrific accident then_).  He realized, then, that he had perhaps, been observing the guy for too long and perhaps appeared to be fearful or scornful of the cyborg.  

            "I can't believe that this is happening!  Man!  This sucks!"  The man yelled out in anguish.

            "Sir, I am so sorry.  I really hadn't been paying attention to where I was walking."  Robin apologized again quickly; he really hadn't meant to upset him.

            "Oh huh?  Sorry.  I didn't mean you.  Nah, a little run in hasn't killed anyone.  I'm just pretty mad at what happened last night.  Have you seen the headlines yet?"  

            "Um…no I haven't.  What happened now?  Did the alligators in the sewer finally attack someone?"  Robin quickly became silent and appalled when the man placed the paper in front of him.  **Major Breakout in Gotham's High Security Jail: All Injustice League Members Have Escaped.**

"My God!  That's terrible.  The Justice League took forever capturing them."  Robin exclaimed.  He could hardly believe that such a heinous event had just occurred.  The Injustice League!  Escaped!  Even the Justice League had taken a good five years to finally round them all up and capture them.  He would have at least expected them to be kept in jail for a few more years…Gotham's jail had been one of the best…one of the best in the entire world in fact.  And for a few months, all the world had felt at least, reasonably safe, but now they would live in fear again.  The Injustice League had not single-handedly wiped out hundreds of people in a single instant once, in one of the more particularly violent battles between them and the Justice League.  And he hated to think about the thousands that had probably died at their hands through the other skirmishes along the way before they were jailed.

            "And it gets better…look."  

            Though Robin couldn't imagine anything worse to have happened, he looked at the following headline.  **Green Lantern and the Flash Both Wounded and in Critical Condition.  **

The man sighed.  "Terrible news, huh?  Just the perfect way to start off your day."  

            "Yea."  Robin nodded.

            "Green Lantern had always been my favorite hero out of all the other Leaguers…he's one of the few earthlings on the League.  Man, I hope he's all right.  He was my hero as a kid."  

            "Well, I'm sure he'll be all right.  They're superheroes after all, the best in the galaxy.  They won't go down so easily; he may be wounded severely, but I'm sure he'll pull through."  Robin reassured.  

            The man sighed again, but then suddenly slapped his forehead.  "Oh curd!  I'm gonna be late to work and it's my second day too!  Hey it was nice meeting ya, but I've got to run."  He began to walk quickly.  Robin was pleasantly astonished though; he was heading the same direction as he was.   

            "Hey, I'm going this way too.  Where do you work?"  He quickly caught up to him.  

            "Wayne Corps as a computer analysts.  I'm pretty new on the job.  Oh, by the way, my name's Cyborg."

            "Cyborg eh?  Well nice to meet you.  I work there too.  Now wonder I haven't seen you around before, you're new.  The computer analyst…let me think.  Oh yes!  You're the one that Bruce gave the job to on the spot right?  I heard that your skills were amazing…we're lucky to have you on the team." 

            "Oh yea."  Cyborg remarked a bit sheepishly.  "Wait a sec, you're…you're Robin, aren't you?  Robin as in the CEO of this division?  The Robin?"  

            "Well, I do have a last name, but yes."  He didn't exactly feel comfortable being called _the Robin_, but then again, he hadn't been very smart in avoiding attention by referring to _we _when he talked about how the company was lucky to have gotten Cyborg as a worker.  

            "Whoa, I'd never thought I'd get to meet both Bruce Wayne and you…I mean you guys are up there in the company and I'm just a scanty little worker.  But it was nice…nice meeting ya."   

A.N: Some notes.  They're quite lengthy (haha, probably longer than the whole chapter); I'll **bold **the important parts.

Right now, with this fic, I really feel that I only have this core group of readers (and **you guys really rock**, **thanks** for all the awesome reviews) and I'm glad to be getting these reviews, but I do hope that more people will read this fic.  **So if you're out there reading, please review!  Show me that you're really out there reading!  And any suggestions to make this fic a bit more visible in terms of the summary to attract more people?**  (Yes, my desperate rant.) Valentine's Day: Hm…from episode summaries of the show, it says that there will be a Teen Titans Valentine's Day special, very interesting.  But, sigh; knowing them, Robin goes on a date…with the villain's daughter, which bites.  Perhaps he'll have a little encounter with Starfire in the end, but no…I mustn't get my hopes up.  It is after all a show aimed for younger kids.  And speaking of Valentine's I have a Valentine's Day fic, called **Love Bites**.  Do check it out. **Brief synopsis: Robin teaches Star about Valentine's Day, which Raven faces a lonely Valentine's wishing she had told B.B. her true feelings for him…**

Yea.  I'll shut up after this**.  Any teen titan cameo requests?  I do need a few villains to make appearances so if you have any suggestions please tell me.**  Slade will of course is in this and if these villains aren't from TT, please provide a brief summary of their personality, looks, appearance, powers, etc.  Lastly, after Chapter 5 (which will tentatively be called The Misfits), things will start rolling about quicker as the plot starts to build up.  Thanks for the patience and until next time, reviews are _very _welcome. ****


	5. Come Together

* * *

Chapter 5: Come Together_Revised August 2004: the beginning half of the chapter stayed pretty much the same, but I did add several new parts in the second half after 'Al' smacks BB with a tray of food. Also look for additional bits in the Raven part and the Cyborg part._

In the midst of a dark alley somewhere in the city, something strange was brewing, and evil was convening. Through the obscurity of the shadows, a man stood waiting with his hands placed nonchalantly in his pockets. He tapped his foot for a bit and pulled out one of those old, gold watches-the ones used for hypnotizing people and rang his fingers along the chain. _They _were late. He tightened his grasp on the watch as he looked around. Well, it should have been of no surprise to him. After all, _they _were all usually very late and a large jailbreak and a few months of hiding in obscurity wouldn't really change any of _their _characters. And besides, he had chosen an opportune area for the meeting- one of those dark alleyways in the impoverished area of the city that people avoided and spoke about in whispered tones even in the daytime.

"Hey Boss, gee why would you choose a meeting in such a run down place-took me hours to find. I thought you'd have finer taste." Apparently, one of the men the "Boss" had been waiting for had arrived.

He sighed in exasperation; even in times like these the other man could still be hopelessly foolish. "I do have better tastes, but as you'd probably noticed, we all have been on the run for the last few months. And one of us, has already been captured."

"One of us, captured? Who?" This time a woman spoke, and she was followed by several others who began arriving and wondering just which one of them had been recaptured. "Oh, man! I hope it isn't…" "Who is it?" "What the heck? No way!" "Should we even be meeting…"

"Silence!" The Boss bellowed out. "It's incompetent moments like these that'll get all of us back into jail. And we are meeting tonight not because of the capture but because we need to amend those plans we made earlier."

"But Boss, if I may inquire, who was captured?" A man with a crisp British accent asked.

"Professor XL."

"Oh phew, good it was only _him_. The guy is a fool anyhow, I don't even know why we accepted him onto our league of the best and the most sinister criminals."

"Well" the Boss was growing impatient. "If we would stay on topic here, we cannot commence our plans until later…"

"But Boss, why? You'd said for sure we'd be doing that whole city the first of next month."

"The plans have changed. The authorities, believe it or not, are smarter than they appear. They got on the Professor XL and though he may not be the strongest nor the brightest of us, they're still alert and vigilant. The time is still too soon…far too soon and we shall…"

* * *

"Wait FIVE more minutes for my veggie burger! You've got to be kidding me!" Beast Boy yelled in frustration. Things were definitely not going his way tonight. To start things off, he thought he'd be on stage by now, doing another one of his scheduled comedic gigs at The Misfits. However, surprisingly, there was a rather large crowd tonight, including his group of friends and mostly his friends' friends and their friends; they were hoping for a rambunctious party. He was looking forward to having a large audience for the first time and since his friends were there to support him, he did feel a lot better and a lot less nervous than he was at previous gigs, but haplessly, the store had decided to cancel his show today.

"Hey kid, there's far too many customers here right now…we've never had this many customers in the store and well, to put it simply, please just don't do your show tonight. We need these customers to stay open and well profit somewhat and well, we don't need you scaring away all those people with your jokes."

_"_Gee thanks a lot." He muttered at the thought of the memory. "Yep. Just the amount of encouragement I need to feel a ton lot better."

To continue on with his rather rotten night, Terra wasn't paying much attention to him. She was spending a good deal of time with Mammoth, the former high school wresting champ and Al (Aqua lad), the school's, obviously, former champion swim team captain to "catch up." BB tried to keep a close eye on them and his nostrils flared a deep shade of red as he watched Terra giggle excitedly as Al finished telling a joke about the old times.

_Ok, come on, don't get too mad…it was probably just a great joke and well if she's talking to other guys, then I'll talk to other girls too. _And so, he proceeded to another table where there was a table of a few giddy blonds drinking soda…they looked slightly familiar though…

"Hey ladies! What's cookin'?" He gave one of the blonds a telltale wink and leaned closer to the table. "Uh…nothing that involves you. Hey aren't you _that_ immature Beast Boy from high school?" One of the girls rolled her eyes and said the things in such a tone that he wanted to leave the table as quickly as possible, but no, he had to be a gentleman and answer the question.

"Um…how did you know my name?"

"Periwinkle Patty? Remember me now? My hair was curlier then but I _really _don't appreciate guys (like you) who take my cheerleading outfit, display it ostentatiously to the whole school pretending to act like a ditzy cheerleader and then _rip _the skirt!" Patty sneered at the poor, green-skinned boy (who had started backing away from the table) and was turning all sorts of very violent shades of red.

"Uh actually…um no…. that isn't my name. I thought you said some other name…like Crest Boy" And with that he sped across the restaurant, back to his table.

And to top things off, when he had tried to get some vegetarian food to cheer himself up, the restaurant was taking a very good long time.

"Yea, so am I getting served anytime tonight?" He asked sarcastically. He didn't care that he was impolite. He was starving and the store didn't seem like it was going to give him his food soon. His girlfriend looked positively infatuated with other guys. And to top it all off, the store had openly derided his comedic skills. Sure he knew he wasn't that great, but honestly, he could use just a tad bit of encouragement.

"Oh, yes sir, of course you will. It's just really hard to catch and kill all those vegetables for that veggie burger, if that's all right with you, Mr. Vegetarian?" The cashier promptly responded. __

The poor, miserable Beast Boy had just about given up on having any sort of a semi-good time at all. He scanned the room again; he was of course searching for _her. _Hmph! She certainly looked like she was having a good time laughing with Mammoth. Where had fish boy gone? And yet, strangely, he had just noticed that they were looking in his direction, seemingly pointing at him. Terra looked slightly guilty and embarrassed, while Mammoth punched the table while attempting to seemingly hold in laughter. What the heck? And where was Al? Nope, BB definitely wasn't having any sort of good feelings at the moment. He turned around slowly and suddenly, **Wham, **he felt a tray of some sticky substance smash into his face…yuck. After he wiped out a bit of the mystery food off his face, he found Al laughing hysterically in front of him. Oh, he was stupid not to have expected something like this to happen…it happened all the time anyhow in high school.

And for BB, that was the last straw. Tonight was supposed to be _his _night- the night when all these people at The Misfits would know that he could be funny, but everything had just been ruined. He was humiliated, and making fun of what he ate was a big "no, no" as this point.

And suddenly, all the frustration and anger that had been building up in him just exploded. "What the heck is you deal? Is everyone here out to get me or something? Is today like 'come, let's make Beast Boy go utterly insane by humiliating him' day? Is that what today is?" He looked around the restaurant, suddenly bewildered. Why was everyone suddenly silent? Oh no, he hadn't said, no scratch that, yelled all that out loud, had he?

He scanned the room and watched people's reactions. There was a brief silence-the calm before the storm, and a sudden plethora of loud chatter mixed in with laughter. "Yea, dude, that's what today is!" "What a weirdo!" "Yea, people like that really shouldn't be allowed in here." Oh crud, he had really messed up this time, making the entire restaurant think he was insane or something, but it didn't matter anyhow. Everything was just terrible. He heard some distant footsteps rushing over to him. Yea, it was Terra, running towards him probably to apologize or something, but he really just didn't want to see her at this point. The damage had been done and as she approached him, he just quickly walked away, but maybe, perhaps a bit too quickly, for he tripped on something slippery on the floor and feel to the ground.

"Ouch," he muttered, but it really didn't seem to matter that he was now sprawled on the ground. He would get up-eventually. Slightly dazed, he turned in the direction where he had heard Terra's footsteps. Terra had bit her lip and looked rather embarrassed and ashamed as what she had done. For a moment, the blond girl looked so pitiful that he just wanted to run up to her and comfort her. She probably hadn't meant for the guys to play that trick on him…in fact, she probably wasn't involved in Al's trick at all. It was just another one of Al's ploys to get him mad at her, and to heck with the former swimmer, he was not going to fall for it. As he attempted to get up, he suddenly saw an apologetic (were his eyes failing him?) Al standing next to her.

"Terra, sorry, I didn't mean to insult him. We (Mammoth and I) just thought it would be a harmless little prank to play on him, just like the old days, you know, cuz Beast Boy got us a lot in the good old days."

Terra, however, shook her head. "I thought you guys would be more mature, and don't apologize to me, apologize to him. He looks really upset…I should go help him up." She began to approach him. _Yes! Terra, that's my girl. In your face Al…_Beast Boy smirked slightly and pretended to be mortally hurt from his fall as Terra got closer.

Suddenly, Al put a hand on Terra's shoulder. "Hey Terra, wait a second…well I'm not sure if this is a good time to tell you about what Beast Boy was saying about you earlier…" Beast Boy narrowed his eyes at Al…_what the heck was he talking about? Well, whatever it was, Terra trusts me enough not to believe a word out of that filthy gossiper's mouth. _

To Beast Boy's surprise, though, Terra stopped, and looked at him, appearing slightly upset? _She's believing him…no, just slight doubt, she'll see through his lies once he starts talking. _

"I'm sorry, Terra. Is this a bad time?" Al asked, feigning concern.

"No…Al. It's a perfect time. So what did my boyfriend say about me?" She glared at Beast Boy as he shook his hands, gesturing that he had no idea what Al was talking about.

"Well, earlier, he told me that he was going to be telling some blond jokes and that his source of inspiration was you." Al said in lower tones, though his words were still loud enough to reach Beast Boy. _The jerk…why I ought to…_

"Terra, look, I swear, I never said anything like that about you. Why would I? You're the sweetest girl I know and…" He looked into her cerulean eyes, trying to get to her, but she didn't seem to be buying it. "BB, you know what I hate more than people talking about me behind my back? Liars." She glared daggers at him and turned away, looking very hurt as an eager Al ran after her to comfort him.

"Terra, it's ok you know. Us guys can be so inconsiderate and cruel at times. Don't feel bad about it…. besides, come on, it's Beast Boy. When I saw you here with him today, I wondered and I still wonder what you really see in the guy." Al began consoling the girl as Beast Boy almost growled in anger and tried again to get up to defend his honor.

"He was really loyal, sweet, trustworthy…or so I thought." Terra sighed as she continued walking away.

"Heh, look on the bright side, at least you know now that he has some sort of backbone. I mean, real men, would not be described only as "loyal, sweet, and trustworthy." Those adjectives are only used to describe boy scouts or Great Danes, and in Beast Boy's case, I would probably assume the later…" _The nerve of the guy to…_

Terra however shook her head slightly. "Thanks for trying Al, but I just need some time alone."

Dejected, BB fell to the floor again. _Man, everything just keeps going further and further downhill…_

And then, to his surprise, he saw a hand extended out toward his. "Sir, are you all right? Do you require some assistance in getting up?"

"Uh…just leave me on the floor. I think I'm better off here anyhow…" BB muttered. Anyhow, he was kind of getting used to lying on the floor. Maybe if he stayed down here the whole night, things could perhaps start getting slightly better…

"I do not wish to intrude upon your decision, but I believe that it is better if I help you up. I fear that you will be trampled upon by people in this restaurant. And from what I have heard about such an experience, it is rather unpleasant…"

* * *

And with that, Raven watched as her happy-go-lucky, ever naïve best friend help the poor, insane greenly tinted young man off the floor. Well, it was amazing how she and Star had grown to become best friends after that encounter in consequently, this restaurant, a few months ago- after all, they had very little, if anything in common. Star loved bright colors of any sort and was a headstrong optimist, while Raven clearly was not. And yet, something had just made their relationship click. Maybe they just balanced each other out- Star with her numerous questions and Raven with her sarcastic remarks.

Yes, Raven had clearly warned her about hurting strangers, especially in this city and after that encounter with the 'blind' man. _Star had tried to help the poor beggar lying in the middle of the sidewalk with large sunglasses on ("Raven, he looks as if he were in serious need of assistance"), but as she tried to help the man up, the man began to vehemently try to stay on the ground. In the struggle, his "blind man glasses" came off, and long behold, everyone realized that the beggar had either miraculously been cured of his blindness in that instant or that the man had been faking his situation. Of course, everyone realized that it was the later when a long string of rather unpleasant words were hurled at Star.) _Starfire, however, would not be daunted in her quest to help those in need.

Raven sighed as she saw her lead the green boy head over towards their table. "Come join us in some repast. My treat." Oh great, now he was heading over here and would probably make Star spend a great sum of money on him for food. People were just not to be trusted blindly as Star often did.

"Uh, it's all right. I'm supposed to get my veggie burger soon."

"Are you sure, stranger who I do not know the name of?" She asked innocently.

"Yea, I'm sure. And I do have a name, it's Beast Boy." Well at least he had some morals since he wasn't taking food (yet), Raven thought to herself.

"Oh, pleased to meet you Beast Boy. And here is my best friend in all of this wonderful earth, Raven."

"Hey." She muttered.

"Hey to you too Miss Sunshine. You sure look like you smile a lot. Uh…you know I've always had a question for you Goth types. (At this, Raven cocked a menacing eyebrow, though it probably wasn't as threatening as she had intended for the boy had continued talking.) It's really random, but I've had a really long and bad night…so do all you Goths burn in the sun or can you tan? And if you tan, do you have to wear lots of white powder or something to maintain the Gothicness? " Thus, began a rather long night for Raven.

* * *

"Come on Cyborg, it'll be fun. No worries, I've chosen a place where there definitely won't be a lot of people and besides you need to get out more. I mean when's the last time that you went out in public?"

"Well Robin, I actually went into public this morning for work like I do every other morning."

"No, I mean gone out for entertainment purposes, to have fun you know. Look, people won't be worried by your robot body and besides you're wearing a trench coat so no one will see."

"But…"

"Come on."

And thus, Cyborg was dragged (literally) by his friend, Robin through the city as the day faded away and the lights of the city lit up. It wasn't that he hated going out, he actually enjoyed going places and having fun; however, he always dreaded those comments, the stares that people would give him whenever he went anywhere. He just felt physically isolated from everyone and was dreading their night out.

Cyborg and Robin, after their encounter that morning, had grown into close friend-best buds. They were a team at Bruce Wayne incorporated and profits were just going up for their company. And they did have a lot in common. They liked similar past times like sports and such and both of them could relate to having a father (of some sorts) who just wasn't there for them all the time. Cyborg was very glad indeed to have such a good friend as Robin, but somehow, among others, he just always felt isolated. Sure, he made friends rather easily, but he always just felt alone- awkward, the metal man among normal people. No one ever asked why he was in the condition, but he was convinced that it was embedded in the backs of their minds whenever they saw him.

"And we're here." Robin announced when they reached a rather full restaurant with the name "The Misfits" in neon lights hanging over the store.

"There definitely won't be a lot of people here eh?" He asked his friend sarcastically.

"Hm…that is strange, thought there wouldn't be, but come on, it doesn't matter that much does it? Besides, I'm hungry." And with that Robin headed into the store. Cyborg sighed and followed his friend; he really wasn't looking forward to this. He liked avoiding as much contact with people who he would probably never have to deal with again because they would just judge him on their first impressions and that was usually not pleasant.

"Hey Cy, looks like all the tables are taken up." Robin scanned the room for a bit and shook his head.

"Well, I guess we could just wait for one to empty then…"

"Hey, wait, look that table over there…they seem to be willing to share their table." Robin observed as the waitress pointed towards a table with two girls and a green-skinned guy. The redhead at the table had seen them wandering around without a table and began motioning with a welcoming smile from the duo to join their table. And so Cyborg, once again reluctantly followed his friend into the depths of the restaurant.

"Robin, uh, how about not. There're girls over there and I don't want them freaking…"

"They or one of them invited us over. I'm sure they'll be ok with it. Stop worrying…try to have some fun" He said with a smirk. "What are you, afraid of getting cooties?"

"Why you…of course not!"

"Well then, come on."

And so Cyborg stopped complaining and as they walked towards the table, little did he know that this would begin, as well as for the others, a very important chapter in their lives…when our little misfits meet each other and well, you shall just see…

* * *

_Paraphrased from the first Pink Panther movie. Yes, they're old movies, but absolutely hilarious. Check them out when you get a chance to._

_Hm…after the revisions, I think this chapter did turn out slightly better. More revisions to come such as an extension of the R/S scene in the next chapter…so, sorry, but Chapter 8's posting will be slightly delayed. _

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A.N.: This chapter was terrible, I know and I'm sorry. Some of the things like BB's troubles just seemed too contrived and well I just kind of rushed through the end part. Sorry for the not-up-to-bat chapter and I guess I may want to rewrite it…. change the way that BB meets the girls and the whole Cyborg part. I just wanted to post this ASAP because I haven't updated this story for a long time and I didn't want you guys to think that I abandoned it. Anyhow, I do have some bad news as well, I don't think that I'll be able to update this story until at least mid May. AP exams are coming up and I really need to study.

I guess I was trying to see how many reviews I could squeeze out of people by not updating and just by leaving my story out there and I guess I've left it just out there for too long…I had to go back and read through what I wrote before I could start this chapter. Well, for this chapter, I decided to take things nice and slowly. Usually, I just write all I can for a chapter and then update with the little that I have, but this time, I decided to wait until I leave off at a satisfactory point and after this chapter, I promise you, things will be moving a lot quicker. **And as always, please review! Reviews are very much appreciated and well do check out some of my other fics as well.**

And sigh, I wish I wasn't so effusive with my writing-constantly jumping from idea to idea. According to my stats, I've archived 29,300 words already, which would be a very good length for a fic, but I'm too jumpy and so yea…

Oh and please, can anyone think of some really venomous villains for the story (doesn't have to be from TT). So far, all the villain cameos requested well weren't that sadistic. I was/am hoping for the names/descriptions of more evil ones, well, on the level of Slade.

Next Chapter: Chapter 6 (no title yet) but we'll be jumping 6 months ahead and well, it'll mostly focus on Raven and Beast Boy and what's been going on with their lives…or just maybe, I'll make the next chapter on Robin and Starfire because Beast Boy certainly did get his share of the spotlight in this chapter.

Ok, and finally, I'm going to respond to some of the reviews I've accumulated over the last few chapters. I didn't do this before as to not make readers feel isolated in not being included in the list of reviews (so review please if you want to be included) or to cause excessive scrolling and non-story related items in the fic, but whenever I read stories, it always makes me feel good when I see that the author has responded to my reviews. So from not on, if I don't get too lazy, I'll respond to reviews every chapter.

**To All**: Thanks for reviewing; it's great encouragement for me to keep writing and **many apologies **for not updating sooner. School and life have just been really hectic lately and will continue to grow more hectic for me as those AP exams and other standardized tests pop up, so again, very sorry.

**Terra Nova: **Um…well I really don't want to give away the future plot of the story, but you shall see in time what happens and well, there'll be a bit more positive Terra/BB interaction in the next chapter.

**Diana-Jae**: Star/Robin interaction will come in time…I'm guessing probably sometime in Chapter 7 or maybe Chapter 6. Oh and you're story rocks my socks. It's great that you put them in high school and have incorporated many of the characters in so many different ways.

**Flyingpiggies**: Your story is very much creative, the girls being in a Miss Gotham fashion show? I haven't seen that one done yet and it's a very cool plot line. And you totally do deserve all the attention in terms of reviews that your story's getting.

**Cybertoy00**: Well, I'm not familiar with that villain, I don't watch KND, but I did put him in there in the beginning for a bit, hope that's enough!

**Raven-4ever**-Thanks for the ideas and I'm sorry that you don't like Wonder Woman in this story or having Cyborg's mother alive. I am not familiar with the comics and they are minor characters in the story-the titans will still be the primary focus. And as for Terra, you shall just see…

**RobinRox**- Put Sarah in here? Um, well I'll try to incorporate her, but I have other romance story line plans for Cyborg. Oh I did mention her (after reading your review) though in another one of my stories, Love Bites (one shot).

**Alys/Sage of Story**-Thanks for the awesome review; I just love getting reviews from you. They're always so long and in depth and you're one of the best writers in this section, if not the very best. I hope you write another story soon! "Bring me to life" was really just a beautiful story and it truly made me believe in the whole BB/R relationship. And thanks for providing me with the titan names for that other story.

**Willow182**-Thanks for the advertisement and cool song fic!

**SSTAG**: Well the story's going to focus mainly on the 5 original titans but Terra will appear in many of the chapters.

**"Person"** (I'm sure you have a real name), **lil washu**, **Momentum**, **lizzy0888**, **Brie**, **BunnyKat**, **Heaven's Coin**, **Burned Fighter**, **Sanity-Stealing-Lawn Gnome** (very cool/interesting pen name lol), **Sailor Flower1**- Thanks for the positive comments. I'm glad that I'm writing a story that you were looking for/enjoy. Hope this chapter was satisfactory (I tried to make it semi-longer).

**Showstopper: **Once again, I'm sorry that I'm such a slow updater.

**Ocdsugar**, **Well-Well, Black Squirrel Productions**, **DaJollyMan**, **Nightling**, **BraveRaven**, **Cosmoluver**, **Woodelf193**, **mia**, **Obsessive and Hyper**, **niceguy586**, **skyhooper**, **Ryan**, **"someone" **(I'm sure you have a real name too), **amskitty214**, and **Jeeto** (my 1st reviewer!): Well I don't suppose any of you are reading this fic anymore (sniff), but well thanks for the earlier reviews. Black Squirrel Productions and Jeeto, your reviews were especially helpful in the development of the plot and spelling items and well you do have good reason not continuing to read b/c I didn't update for a very long time. And (I'm probably just writing this to no one) I hope that you'll start reading/reviewing my story again.

Wow, a lot of responses lol.


	6. Introspection

Chapter 6: Introspection

_AN: So I gave in, this is a rather Starfire/Robin focused reflective chapter…_

Sigh, I wish they'd air the final 4 episodes of season 2 soon in the U.S.  I've already seen Aftershock II, but Aftershock I still looks so extremely cool, I saw a few clips of it through some clandestine clips and wow, it just looks awesome, so I suppose the wait will be worth it.  Just things to look forward to, there is a tad bit of Raven/BB interaction.  I didn't get to see the full scene, but apparently, Raven gets knocked over after Terra attacks her.  Then, as Raven is lying on the street, BB puts his arm around her and helps her up.  There's this other clip where Terra hurls a rock at Robin, who isn't being observant at that point.  Star takes the hit for him, but falls into the raging water below her and then Robin screams out her name very emotionally.  Ah, then there's this rather large mud fight between Terra and Raven…some very cool scenes indeed.  But alas, fellow U.S. compatriots, we have to wait a few more months to see that episode in its entirety.

**_Lady Karmina: _**_Thanks for reading (yea I know, I sort of self advertised there), but I do hope this new chapter (unlike the last one) will be up to bat.  Oh and do update "Ring Around the Rosies" soon, it's such a great story.  Honestly, that fic is one of the rare ones that leaves me literally on the edge of my seat waiting for the next chapter, and it's written so well that even if you do make it R/R in the end (though I prefer S/R) I honestly won't mind. BTW, slowness on my part but what does "Ja ne" mean (is it like bye or something), I've seen it so many times, though I haven't been sure of its meaning._

**_Dillpops: _**_I do like the British spellings of words (ex. I prefer writing grey as opposed to gray), man, I wish I could do a British accent.  They just make the language sound so neat and lovely, yes I'm strange.  Yea, about the hard to follow, the last chapter was just disjointed and I think I wanted to make the divisions clear between character shifts but sometimes just when it's uploaded it doesn't really work out.  Oh and your story, write more soon if you have time.  I think you left off with a rather nasty cliffhanger lol._

**_Lizzy0888: _**_Thanks!  You know your reviews are always so positive, perhaps overly positive b/c it pumps up my self-esteem.  Honestly, if there's anything wrong with the fic tell me, I'd like to know how to improve.  AP exams: yes!  They went all right, English and Biology, but Calculus killed me.  Now that exam is truly evil, cruel and unusual punishment._

**_AcrazyTeenager2005_**_: I've avoided elaborating on how they dress (but cool, good imagination!) b/c I honestly can't picture Robin w/o his mask lol/dressed more normally.  Yea, I'm planning to go back and eventually revise the last chapter.  Heh heh, I was hoping people wouldn't notice the plot incongruities like that little Terra part, but I do hope this chapter makes a bit more sense._

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**_ScarletAngel68_**_: Thanks for the compliment, I'm trying to make Aus more appealing b/c they're so fun to do and can really expand the scope of what can happen in fan fics.  Ah, I don't want to give away the storyline (though read chapter 1, the spoilers/plot synopsis to perhaps get an idea of where I am going with this), I want to keep you all guessing, but the next chapter will focus on Raven and BB._

**_Otherworlder:_**_ Yep, I'm not.  Oh wow, seriously, Cyborg and his dad didn't have a good relationship?  This was all just guessing and an attempt to create side plots to the story.  Well with the Justice League, Bruce Wayne in this story is supposed to be the Bruce Wayne from the league aka Batman, though Robin and the others don't know this.  A major premise of the story is for Robin to find out who Bruce really is.  _

**_The Sage of Story:_**_  Whoa, very long review lol.  I don't know, but I have a hard time doing BB.  I usually write serious stories and he's just such a comedic guy that sometimes I don't' think what he thinks or just the writing goes along with his personality.  Oh and I think if you tried to do Cyborg, you'd do a good job w/ him like you did w/ BB and Raven especially.  I just feel bad for Cyborg.  I mean he's a great character, just that he seems to never get in the spotlight.  He's always the lone man out and yea, I think he deserved his own little side plot line.  Yes and exams, they're over!  (Well at least the APs) So I have more time for the stories.  LOL and I agree Sunshine10 does need to update her stories, they're just so awesome and so close to the real thing.  Hm…but have you read Post's "These Black Eyes".  It's really good as well and his characterization is as good as Sunshine10's.  _

_ **Nightling:** It's great that your still reading this story, do continue to read it !  Yea, it was rushed cuz I wanted all the characters to "come together" in one chapter and avoid doing another 2 parter chapter.  _

**_Flyingpiggies:_**_ LOL.  All right, motivated by the wackiness of the review, I tired to update sooner so the craziness dones't build up (but a bit of insanity never bothered me).  Lol dancing with toasters and yum, I got sprayed with chocolate!  And on the same topic, when are you updating your story, you really do humor well and man, you just stopped when it was getting all suspenseful?!  Lol see if I don't dance with a toaster or maybe some other appliance like a blender next time I review your story._

**_Willow182:_**_ Awesome, a loyal reviewer.  I think that I did make Star's talking a bit off from the earlier chapters, but I'll try to move it back on track in this one.  I just hope that this chapter came within a reasonable amount of time.  _

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**_BurnedFighter:_**_ I'm glad you liked the chapter and I always like getting your reviews, they're always so positive and supportive.  Don't be afraid to criticize.  _

**_Lulugir715:_**_ Last and certainly not least, you lol.  Ok, many many apologizes.  I'm in high school and there's just so much to do.  In English class alone, though our major AP exam is over, we still have to write a narrative essay, do a short story, AND do a presentation on a short story, so lots of stuff to do.  And so very sorry for not updating Stardom.  But as time builds up, I keep getting these new ideas for it which is good.  So for Stardom, I guess wait until summer (sorry!) but the chapters they will incorporate episodes of TT that they're filming and actual live action b/n the actors/actresses.  I did write part of the last chapter though .    _

_On with the story after an overly long response and notes section…_

     One would have had to been insane not to have thought the day as the perfect spring day.  The heavens were bright, the flowers in full blossom or budding gently, almost to be woken in a moment's notice, and everything was just so alive and vivid.  Even the winds sang a soft willowy breeze, murmuring of the beauty of yester-spring.  And for Starfire, everything was just perfect.  She could not even imagine Raven being her usual brooding self.  Why the world just sang of unbounded joy!  If she were not in the midst of people, she would have pranced around as a child in the park, skipping about and singing one of the old hymns of home. 

    "Lovely."  She whispered softly as not to disturb the quintessence of the world around when a few scattered petals of a cherry blossom flew into her palm.  She studied the colors of the petals for a bit, then sat down on a nearby stone bench, and pulled out a sketchpad.  Flipping to a page with a rose-laced blouse on it, she took out a small box of colored pencils and began trying to imitate the powdery pink color of the flowers.  She cocked her head and stared up at the cherry trees surrounding her, how perfect each branch, each green leaf, and each blossom was.  To see such magnificence, Star mused; it would be impossible to doubt the existence of a glorious God.

     There were no such trees in her home just endless fields of heather and forget-me-nots in the summer.  She shut her eyes, envisioning the puerile fields of home.  She could still feel the gentle sun warming her face as she collapsed into the amber fields of drying grass.  Everything just smelled crisp like the burning of vanilla incense or maybe it was something gentler like lilac…She shook her head.  She was forgetting- those minute details of home that she swore she would always remember; they were just floating away into oblivion.  It was only natural, though.  She hadn't yet gone home ever since she arrived in the city about half-a year or a bit longer ago.  Oh, she did miss her home terribly and she had not achieved all that she had desired.  If it had not been for her friends, her special four friends especially, she would have been back at tome again.  Star turned her head a bit as she studied the color she had make the blouse-she had gotten the shade of pink just right, but the shirt still seemed too bland.  Perchance, she wondered, a bit of heather or forget-me-not blue would do it some good.

     Sometimes, though, she wondered why she tried so hard.  Her sister Blackfire never seemed to appreciate her designs anyhow-calling them too old fashioned and childish, all in all too sweet.  "Sis, the girl-next-door look is just not something we do…you need to add more spice, make it more daring, more risqué."  Well at least her sister had looked at the sketches. 

      Blackfire…dear old Blackfire.  It was on a whim that Star had dared to venture to the city and of all places, to her sister's home.  It wasn't that she didn't love Blackfire, her eldest sister, but Blackfire had always been interesting to say the least.  Blackfire was _different _from the other Tamarans.  She did not indulge in the recitations of the poems of gratitude, friendship, and family, but was instead off, away at some fellow rebel friend's house reading up on witchcraft and tarot cards, which she found far more interesting.  She avoided the more treasured town celebrations- Blorthog, Mellowhip, and Cesdrantia to name a few, always feigning sick or throwing a temper tantrum.  To sum it up tersely, she wanted to be free. 

      As Star recalled, though it suddenly became apparent as she saw how well her sister blended in at the city, Blackfire was always overly mature.  She had been the first to outgrow their pretend games.  "It's silly.  We're acting like kids." 

      Instead of hanging out with Star ("Sister, I seek your companionship…do you care to transverse to the center of shopping and to…"), Blackfire would shut the door to her room and spend countless hours in front of the mirror, covering her face with layers of powder and gleaming her eyes with eye shadow and mascara until she was scarcely recognizable.  Blackfire always seemed to have a date with boy far older than her…there were several rumors going around about her…what she did to the boys on the dates.  They would always return home with her at some odd hour of the night with flushed faces and shivering bodies.  Even the tough ones declared that only after a date with Blackfire, would one really become a man. 

      And Star's parents were absolutely distraught with what they should do about Blackfire.  They were always gentle in front of Star, but in the nights when Blackfire was on one of her dates (or had sneaked out), when they thought that she was fast asleep, she would hear them argue through the night.  "Dearest honey, I do not believe that we should engage our daughter Fire of Black in battle.  Why do we not just talk to her and express our feelings about her outings with the boys?"

     "We tried that last time.  Did she listen to one word that we said?  She is a disgrace to the family!  She's old enough…I say that we leave her on her own if she wishes to commence in such vile behavior."

     "Yelling, punishment…that is not the way.  Maybe this time she would…"

     "I am tired of all this.  Can we just not end it simply?  She will no longer be our daughter if she continues like this…"

      "But…"   

      These midnight talks would go on and on until Blackfire was of age and in a particularly rowdy argument with her father, Star remembered a shuffle of bags and a loud slam.  And that was it, she had not heard from her sister since she came of age and decided to travel to the New city of York…   

      She was now appreciated at work, though for her measurements and fitting skills.  They had deemed her "tailor" of the whole company, making the outfits fit comfortably, yet still allowing the figures of the wearers to show through and be accentuated.

     She continued her pursuits in coloring the outfit.  The coloring-to get that precise shade-was proving to be difficult.  And as she looked around in the park to seek out a color that could guide her in her pigmentation attempts, she observed a familiar figure jogging by.  She smirked slightly the spiky raven colored hair and that confident but not cocky gait could only be one person-the coloring was forgotten as she decided to approach _him_.    

      His body was pumped with adrenaline as he finally collapsed onto the bench, his heart pounding quickly.  He shut his eyes and squirted water onto his face…_that_ was an invigorating 3-hour early morning jog.  His spirit, his soul wanted to continue running to feel that freedom as the wind propelled him forward, but his body, his legs were exhausted, not to mention drenched in sweat.  He wanted to continue running though, to escape those other thoughts to escape.

     "Robin and Cyborg, 150% increase in profits…"  Bruce trailed off as he studied his figures. 

      "Yes, sir."  Robin responded tersely, trying to read Bruce's expression as he studied their figures.

      "Yes…and we would have had even more if Mr. Slade hadn't swindled us a little on that deal.  But Mr. Wayne, rest assured, we will get him next time."  Cyborg, in contrast, talked freely.  He did seem proud…after all, he was new and did not know of Bruce's expectations.

      Bruce grinned slightly at Cyborg's enthusiasm.  "Ambition and optimism…I like seeing that.  Seeing that it is your first quarter at the company, I congratulate you.  A job very well done for a novice, now would you mind giving Robin and me a moment?" 

      Crud, Robin was going to be getting it this time.  No sooner had the door closed when Bruce sighed.  "Robin, Robin, Robin…150% increase, only a 20 % improvement from last quarter's earnings.  I don't understand…you have such great potential, but you are far from reaching it right now.  You've had the best education that money can buy, the best training, and you are still not up to par…"  Bruce continued talking, complaining about his lack of work.  Robin could only stare down at the table, and just a moment ago, Bruce had been so proud of Cyborg.  Sure, he could have worked harder, but in Bruce's eyes, he could always work harder, always do better.  Nothing was ever good enough for him. 

      "Maybe Cyborg is a distraction.  You two are pretty close, aren't you?  Friends are distractions after all."  Robin tuned in again as he heard Bruce mention his friend's name.   "I, no, he's a good person to work with." 

      "But your performance has been lacking" 

     "I've still improved 20% from last time" 

      "You and I both know you could do better.  And I don't want you holding someone else down by distracting them, like Cyborg.  He's a great kid, and I don't want either of you two getting off task."

      "But Bruce, we're a team, we work well together."

     "Apparently not from the figures.  I don't want you slacking off.  I'll put in a notice for Cyborg to be transferred to another department." 

     "Bruce…"

      "Robin…"

      "Fine." He muttered.  "Thank you for considering my well being once again, sir" he tried to maintain a bitterly cool tone to perhaps show Bruce how he really felt, but Bruce never noticed anything. 

     And he was angry.  Bruce, yes, he wanted the best for him, but any sort of joy, any sort of pleasure, once Bruce discovered it, he would rip it away from Robin.  He mustn't be immature but it was just so unfair and arbitrary.  In frustration, he slammed his fist down on the bench and was surprised when he heard a sudden "yelp."

     He turned his eyes towards the "yelp" and met two emerald orbs.  "Star?  Sorry, didn't mean to do that."

     "Friend Robin, I did not mean to startle you.  If you wish to be alone, speak and I shall leave, I comprehend." 

      "Oh no, Star, it's all right.  I was just surprised.  Hey, here, sit down."

      "Robin, are you all right in your well being?  If I am correct, people, even people of the city, usually do not slam their fists down upon park benches?"  Her melodic voice accentuated each syllable of each word as she stared at him with great concern in a rather flattering manner. 

      "I-no it's nothing.  It'll all be all right, sometime."  He shrugged, trying to act as if he wasn't really as frustrated with Bruce as he was. 

      "You are sure that you do not wish to talk about it?  In my home, we would always tell each other of our concerns every night to express the how do you say this…the "bottled up" emotions of the day."

     "Yea, it's all right Star."  He really did not want to dwell upon the subject any further and decided to talk of something else.  "So what are you doing out here this morning?  I wouldn't have minded taking you here and showing you around."

     "It is all right.  I knew not that I would end up here this morning as I set out to explore the wonderments of this city."  Her concern seemed to have dwindled a bit.  _Good.  _"If I may ask the same of you, why are you here?"  She stopped as she noticed all the sweat upon his study body and saw his running uniform on.  "I apologize.  That was a foolish question.  You came here to run…did you not?"

     "Yea."  He took a generous swig of his water. 

     There was a long awkward pause as neither of them really had anything intelligent to say to the other.  Crap, did he feel stupid.  He could think of foolish random items in the news to say to fellow workers, who really meant nothing to him, yet he could manage to say nothing to Star alone, one of his newest close friends.  He tried to begin suggesting something of the lovely flowers all around but stopped shortly as he met her calm, patient eyes waiting for him to perhaps say something meaningful.  No, he couldn't talk about plants with her and he instead, managed a muffled grunt. 

     The anger and frustration from earlier was now replaced by a feeling of clumsiness.  What could he say?  He probably looked like a fool to her at the present moment, and as he debated what to say to her, she abruptly arose.  "It has been pleasant speaking with you this morning, Robin.  I believe I have wasted too much of your time."  She offered him a bright smile as she began gather up her belongings. 

"Yea."  Could he possibly say anything _more _intelligentperhaps?  It was strange, around Star, whatever emotions he was feeling then, this overcoming feeling of clumsiness would suddenly arise.  She had successfully dissipated his rage and disappointment though.  "I guess I'll be…"  He stopped shortly as he caught sight of a cotton candy stand.  Cotton candy, has she had any of that stuff?  "Hey wait Star, do you care to have some cotton candy with me?" 

      "Cotton candy?" 

AN: As you may have noticed the quality of writing at the end dissipated, I got tired lol. 

But please

Review!  Flames, criticism, death threats, and maybe even comments are all appreciated.  I want **your **feedback!   Please get me over the big 100 mark! 


	7. Raven's Pudding

Before I begin I would like to dedicate this chapter to the following people:

**Lizzy0888**-my 100th reviewer! Yes, you all helped me get there (and thank you for that) but she was the actual hundredth person.

**ZodiacFire- **who is fulfilling one of my TT fan fiction whims. She's an awesome writer and does really good character cameos. Check out her story **Tone Deaf**, which she is writing to satisfy one of my fan fiction whims.

Link: ?storyid=1863503

**_AN: _**As I sit here and go through the reviews, I am starting a tad bit guilty for not updating sooner, but hey; I'm still hitting my quota for the most part (at least one story/chapter update per month). Thank you all for reviewing…it really encourages me to continue with this story. I know, I'm sorry; I'm such a slacker when it comes to updating, but I do have two valid excuses besides laziness: I have an internship for the summer and the next school year so that takes up a ton of time and next year, fall 2005, I shall be heading off to college so I must do some research on that.

**Review responses: **Thank you all so much for those reviews. They really make my day . I love acknowledging everyone personally and extensively, but I was afraid that it would take up too much space in the chapter so for review responses for the last chapter, refer to my profile (it may take a few hours for to load up the revised profile though) where everyone who reviewed has a response. **__**

**Chapter 7: Raven's Pudding**

Withering Away

_Sweet muse,_

_Come back to me._

_Sing your hymns again,_

_Come and invigorate my senses,_

_Fill me with the hope I need to continue once again._

_I can no longer see the beauty nor the meaning of my works._

_They all seem so foul, so putrid now_

_With line after line of meaningless clichés;_

_I see nothing- absolutely no potential in any of my old foolish works._

_Even that most treasured poem,_

_Drips with the blood of imperfection._

_Muse, come back to me,_

_And stop the ugliness from continuing._

_Stop this intense misery _

_That tortures my soul _

_Everyday,_

_Every minute,_

_Every second._

_Let it all just die_

_And _

_W_

_ I_

_ T _

_ H_

_ E_

_ R_

_ Away._

_She has not returned for quite a while now_

_And I no longer wait for her return._

_The harvest moon is bright_

_And perfect for the end._

_I toss my poems, my beloved stories, my life work_

_Into the bon fire._

I watch the flames sparkle and dance 

_As I feel my spirit burning and withering away_

_Along with the fire's ashes._

Raven read the poem before her again, hoping to see some redeeming points within it as she sipped a cup of herbal tea at her kitchen table. _Come and invigorate my sense…just what the heck was I thinking when I wrote this. _She cringed as she continued on to the next stanza; it was such a flat, disgustingly boring poem that really said nothing significant at all. Sadly, though, she had to admit that "Withering Away" had been the best poem she had written over the past month.

Writing, poetry, it was everything to her (or rather, they used to be everything to her). Everything and anything she had really cared about. Months ago, after dropping out of college, stopping a year and five months short of receiving a degree psychology, it was just wonderful. Waking, sleeping, and writing whenever she pleased, not having to be hindered by all the work she had to do for class when she could be writing. Words just seemed to slip from her pen, rearranging themselves in lustrous phrases and coming together to form poems that she was very proud of.

But then, real life caught up. Rent, bills, food, the costs of living just piled up when her parents or rather, her _father, _refused to fund her activities once she dropped out. Not that she wanted any of her father's charity, anyhow, but since he had basically forced her to major in psychology, she figured that having him fund her education was only a ploy for his next campaign- _Re-elect Trigon for Mayor: statesman, gentleman, and family man._

It would be a gross understatement to say that she disliked her father-the epitome of the corrupt politician. Sure, he's been in the mayor's office for a term, winning overwhelmingly against his opponent, but it was only because he had so brandished the reputation of the former mayor by exacting all his dirty, little secrets that it was rumored that the man had left the country and changed his name. Somehow or rather, Trigon would always find a way to obtain the dark secret in the lives of political dissidents and to, in a way, blackmail them into going through with his agenda. Slick and ever the elusive mayor, people either feared him too much to go against him or could simply find no evidence that he was involved in the immoral attempts to discredit his opponents, though it was clear that he had some sort of connection to underhanded means. And they still called home a democracy, how utterly ironic.

Machiavelli was Trigon's hero, The Prince-his guiding principles to being a politician. "Make the people fear you Raven, that's the key to power." And with a smug, slick chuckle, he would act as if he had just discussed something extremely important and philosophical with her. "As you can see, my friends, my daughter and I have a perfectly open relationship. Isn't that so Raven?" He would give her a glance that shot with daggers as he causally draped an arm around her and tightened his grip ever the slightly to remind her that he was in charge of her life despite her spirit of rebellion. She may choose to run away from home, from her past, but they would always be connected by blood. She utterly despised him, eagerly anticipating when she could leave home because deep down inside, she feared that some of his corrupt ideals would seep within her mind where she could not escape them… And these thoughts kept boring down upon her mind. Yes, she enjoyed psychology, but the fact that her father had intended the major for her prevented her from truly enjoying the subject. She wanted nothing to do with him. The anger that had built up inside…and so, she discovered writing. At first, she merely jotted down thoughts in a notebook, but as time passed, the haphazard phrases and sentences began to flow, to convalesce into an entity. And soon, she found herself spinning just pages and pages of descriptions that meshed into poems, truthful poems that allowed her to express her innermost feeling. It was an escape from a world she wanted no part in, and it was wonderful in the beginning. But the real world had caught up. Money for food, for rent, for basic needs, she soon realized that she lacked all that. After going through several meager pay jobs, a chance meeting led her to work at The Muckrakers, which unlike her other jobs, had an adequate, but still not extravagant or distinctly comfortable, pay. It was an immense amount of work, though, and it soon consumed all her time, leaving her little time to pursue her true passion, to be a writer and to just be able to string little pieces of written art all day. 

"Raven, are you in well being? You seem to have less of a predilection to speak than you would in times of normalcy. Tell me, what is weighing down upon your mind today?" Starfire's awkwardly constructed words awakened Raven from her thoughts.

"Oh, just tired." She replied tersely as she sipped a bit of herbal tea from her cup. Apparently, the answer didn't satisfy her bubbly friend. "Friend Raven, you look not in good disposition. Perhaps, if I rush to my sister's home establishment, I may be able to produce a most invigorating Pudding of Vitality of your exhaustion. Come Raven!" Star stood up with a start, always eager to whip up her infamous puddings.

_Oh God…not her pudding again. _Raven gulped slightly, remembering her last "encounter" with the pudding. After having a pretty nasty day at work, she had acted slightly moody around Star, refusing all of her friend's attempts to make her go shopping or fishing in the local city lake ("Star, for the last time, we _city _dwellers have to follow laws about this sort of stuff. In your home, you may have been able to fish wherever you pleased, but here, you can't." "But dearest female comrade Raven, it would cause so much enjoyment on my part and yours. You could perhaps, after fishing successfully, bask in the rays of the sun of joy again." "It's night time." "I was speaking figuratively.") To make a long conversation short, somehow or rather, Raven refused all of Star's attempts to cheer her up to such a point that Star believed that Raven was furious with her. Yes, Raven was rather annoyed with her, but not furious, to say the least, or not as furious as she was, after she consumed the Pudding of "Friendship and Forgiveness."

Star's eyes began to water as she watched Raven refuse the mess she held out-the dreaded pudding. "Raven, you do not wish to partake in consuming this Pudding of Friendship and Forgiveness? Are you indicating that you (at this point, the girl's voice began to crack) no longer wish to remain friends with me?"

"Uh…no…no, definitely not that. I just had a rough day, and I'm in no mood for pudding right now, no matter _how _appetizing it appears to be." She cringed at the appetizing bit of her statement. The pudding looked anything but edible. In fact, it seemed to take a life on its own…maybe she was losing it, but the brown-yellowish dough/liquid substance seemed to have just twitched.

"It is all right. You have no need to remain polite if my presence has become a great annoyance. I am sorry for forcing this friendship upon you. I believe that I shall leave now." With her head hung down, Starfire shuffled dejectedly towards the door. _I don't believe this. _Raven sighed. After all, Starfire was her best friend, despite all of their many differences. Sure, they got on each other's nerves (or more accurately, Star got on Raven's nerves), but emotionally, they did indeed help and support each other most of the time. With the thought of old memories, Raven picked up a spoon and dug away at the pudding. "Hey Star…look" She tried to manage some enthusiasm. "I'm eating it now." With a gulp, she swallowed the bit of pudding on her spoon, and felt her throat begin to burn.

"How was it? Does it not tell of the glories of friendship?" Starfire now beamed, reassured that Raven was still her friend. "Uh…yes, in a very unique kind of way-in fact, in a very unique kind of way. So what's in this Pudding of Friendship thing?" "Well, in my home, it is important to adhere to the strict standards of pudding creation. However, because I wanted to combine the positive effects of both the pudding of friendship and forgiveness, it involved a complex concoction of a mixture of the ingredients of both. In all honesty, after the straight combination of both puddings, the taste was terrible. So to alleviate the terrible taste, I placed several bottles amount of mustard within the pudding. Does it not taste better-"

Raven gasped and rapidly interrupted Star. "Mustard!" Why she was extremely allergic to mustard! That probably explained the burning sensation within her throat. She choked out half coughing and wheezing. Slightly concerned, Star answered Raven's exclamation. "Yes, mustard. Is something wrong…oh my! You are coughing! Oh Raven, I am sorry. I presumed the pudding to be edible!" In a splutter of apologies and several spasms, Raven somehow managed to explain her allergy to Star and got her to call an ambulance…thus leading to a very unpleasant, one week stay in the hospital followed by months of deep apologies from Starfire.

So it was no wonder that Raven had so dreaded another encounter with the pudding that she was willing to do anything to avoid it…_even act happy._ "Actually, I feel and less sleepy suddenly. It's the tea…yup definitely the tea." Raven managed a slight smirk to increase assurance that she wouldn't have to suffer through Star's pudding. "Are you sure friend Raven? Perhaps for assurance, we could- " "Honestly, herbal tea really does it all. Want some?" With an eager nod, Raven poured a cup of the tea for her while breathing a sigh of relief. No allergic reaction for her today.

A knock came from Raven's door. "Probably the guys." She muttered to Starfire, who eagerly went to open the door. "Greetings Cyborg and Robin…Raven and I were playing the role of elderly maids."

"Elderly maids?" Cyborg asked in a brief moment of confusion. "Oh, you mean old maids."

"Yes, old is the correct word. I apologize for the confusion."

"No prob, Star, so what's cooking today in Raven's café?" The former athlete causally asked. Raven shrugged and rolled her eyes slightly. "You'll never guess." "Oooo…could it be herbal tea?" Cyborg guessed with forced enthusiasm.

"Wow…how could you ever guess…you must be psychic or something…" However, amidst their bit of banter, she noticed that Star had been particularly quiet. Of course, Star had become preoccupied with Robin who seemed to be in one of those moods.

Star sat across from him as he stared at the newspaper folded out before him seemingly studying him features, though she did seem disturbed that he had yet to say a word. Pausing for a moment, before saying a word, she looked slightly edgy and nervous. "Robin, are you in healthful being?"

"Oh yea, sorry, this news just has been getting to me. Here look at this: No Leads on the Whereabouts of the Injustice League-Justice League Baffled and The Ins and Outs of Wayne Corps." He groaned after reading the last headline. "Cy, Bruce definitely won't be happy when he reads that. I swear, Slade or that Gizmo must have been interviewed and half of this stuff's been spun purposely so that we look bad."

Cyborg shook his head as he began scanning the article. "Man…well it isn't _that_ bad."

"Not that bad for you, but Bruce's been cracking down on me, more than he usually does." Robin added as he sighed.

"I am sorry for your misfortunes." Starfire finally managed to say after watching his depressed form. She looked considerably subdued and even slightly despondent afterwards, as well.

It was obvious to Raven that Star and Robin clearly had something or rather going on in between them, though they both seemed completely oblivious. She honestly did try to direct Star to him actions ("I'm sure Robin isn't mad at you. He was clearly blushing today." "Blushing? I do not believe so Raven. Most chances than not, Robin must have accumulated mosquito bites from the picnic we reveled in. The redness was surely due to the bites of the insects, not of blushing…") and clearly, it was hopeless.

And Raven wasn't the type to initiate "girl talks." After the pudding incident, she could not help but to envision the worst-case scenario while girl talking. In her mind, Star would ask to "engage in an intimate conversation between two female" with her. After much begging and pleading on the part of Star, Raven would finally reluctantly agree to talk with her, but haplessly, in a flash, Star would smile brightly, whisk out a bowl of pudding (most probably the Pudding of Truthfulness and Confidentiality), and stuff spoonfuls of it into Raven's mouth to ensure the proper environment for a friendly, intimate conversation.

As the others all settled and began to have their own conversations, Raven returned to her notebook and flipped the page, preparing to read more disappointing poetry. She sipped her tea again, and noticed that something or rather someone was missing from the background chatter. Of course, Beast Boy wasn't there. Strange as it was, without his lively chatter, the room felt slightly emptier.

**A.N.: **The chapter was originally supposed to be longer, featuring a bit of Beast Boy as well, but it was getting long, so thus ends Chapter 7. And once again, I love receiving reviews of any sort, so please tell me what you thought of the chapter.

Side note: Who Needs Love Anyhow- a BB/R and S/R/S fic I'm beginning where they are all in college, so if I'm slow with updates (as usual), it'd be nice if you could check it out.


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